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Show MIlimp Mk Aggie Basketball Special • Fall 2011 • 17G 16 Best year behind, now is time for women to climb Coming off of one of the most successful seasons in Utah State women's basketball history, the 2011-12 team looks to build off those accomplishments and climb to the next level. Head coach Raegan Pebley's Aggies ended the 2010-11 campaign with an 18-15 overall record which broke the record for wins in a season. The Aggies also finished their sixth season in the Western Athletic Conference with a 10-6 record, their best since joining the league. Last season, Utah State also made history by earning a bid to the Women's National Invitation Tournament (WNIT). The blue and white dominated Arizona in the first round in Logan, before eventually falling to in-state rival in the second round in Provo. It was USU's first postseason appearance since the 1981-82 season. The last time the Aggies reached postseason play was the Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women (AIAW) Region VII Championships. The last time that Utah State hosted postseason game was March 5, 1976 when USU lost to Utah in the AIAW Region VII Championships. The 2011-12 squad looks to climb to the next level with a team that returns three starters and 10 letterwinners from last season's historic team. The 2011 WAC Newcomer of Year, senior forward Ashlee Brown, returns for the Aggies this season. She is just the fourth Aggie to earn all-WAC honors when she was named to the first team. Junior center Banna Diop returns in pursuit of Nicole Johnson's career block record. Diop's 99 blocks are just 34 shy from tying Johnson's record of 133 career rejections. Junior guard Jenna Johnson is the third starter that is back for USU this season. Johnson started all 33 games last season, averaging 6.6 points per game. Sharp-shooting junior guard Devyn Christensen is among the 10 letterwinners returning for the Aggies this season. Christensen started the final 14 games of the season and was second on the team in scoring, averaging 12.1 ppg. Utah State is extremely deep at the guard position, also returning junior Pualei Furtado along with sophomores Jennifer Schlott and Kamie Imai. Senior forwards Reyneisha Mays and Maddy Plunkett are both back for their final seasons in Aggie blue and white. Junior forward Chelsea Burns was solid off the bench for USU last season, seeing time in 32 of the Aggie's 33 games. Guards Despite losing WAC all-defensive team member Alice Coddington along with fellow senior guard LaCale Pringle-Buchanan, the Aggies are still very deep in the guard position. Coddington ended her Utah State career as the all-time leader in steals with 236. Juniors Johnson and Christensen both earned quality minutes last season, as both played over 750 minutes last year. Johnson, a native of Wasilla, Ala., averaged 6.6 points and 3.1 rebounds per game. Christensen, from Caldwell, Idaho, was one of two Aggies to average in double-digits in scoring (12.1 ppg). Furtado, a native of Kaneohe, Hawaii is the final junior guard back for the Aggies. Along with sophomores Schlott, from Mesa, Ariz., and Imai, a native ASHLEE BROWN LOOKS TO PASS IN HEATED SPECTRUM ACTION FROM LAST SEASON. of Pahoa, Hawaii, Utah State welcomes three freshmen guards, Brooke Beckstead, Addison Moore and Elise Nelson. Senior guard Brooke Jackson transfers to Utah State from the University of Arizona. Forwards At the forward position, Utah State said goodbye to all-WAC honoree Amber White as well as Stacey Howard. Brown, a native of Chandler, Ariz., will be the leader at the forward position, ending the season with a team-leading 10 doubledoubles. Despite battling injury last season, the senior was still first on the team in scoring (15.2 ppg) and rebounding (8.4 rpg.) She is the only player from the WAC's top 10 in scoring to return this season. Burns, from Carlsbad, Calif., returned to form last season after missing a year with an injury. Seniors Plunkett, a native of Albury, New South Wales, and Mays, from Victorville, Calif., also both return to the hardcourt this season for USU. Freshman Xava Grooms, a native ofGranada Hills, Calif., is the only newcomer at the forward position. She comes to USU from Granada Hills High School. Centers /Statesman photo Utah State may only have two centers on the roster but both are very powerful. Dakar, Senegal native Diop's 62 blocks last season were second on the Aggies' singleseason leader list. She averaged 9.5 points and 5.9 rebounds per game. Los Angeles, Calif., native Franny Vaaulu is the only other center on the roster. The 6-3 freshman is one of three Aggies standing 6-3 or taller. The Warren High School graduate is one of five freshmen on the roster this year. The Schedule This season, Utah State will play 28 regular season games, including 15 home games at the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum. Last year, the Aggies 10-6 at home. Utah State will face only three teams from the Beehive State versus the six that it faced last season. The Aggies will take on BYU, Weber State and Utah Valley. Last year, the Aggies 3-4 against Utah teams with wins against Southern Utah, Weber State and Utah Valley. "Starting on the road against Wyoming and South Dakota State is a great opportunity. Both of these teams were in postseason tournaments, are well coached and will have great crowds. We will need to be extremely focused and intense in our fall workouts and conditioning to be prepared for these challenges," Pebley said. The Aggies will play nine teams that reached either the NCAA Tournament, the Women's National Invitation Tournament (WNIT) or the Women's Basketball Invitational (WBI) in 2010-11, including four teams from the WAC. Both WAC Tournament champion, Fresno State, and WAC regular-season champs, Louisiana Tech, reached the NCAA Tournament, while Nevada advanced to the WNIT and Idaho made an appearance in the WBI. South Dakota State and Montana round out the quartet of teams that advanced to the "Big Dance" last season. In-state rival BYU and Wyoming both advanced to the WNIT along with UC Riverside. Once again, the WAC will play a double round-robin format. This season, the Aggies will play the bulk of their WAC schedule on Thursdays and Saturdays. All eight teams will advance to the WAC Tournament. For the second-straight season, the tournament will be held at the Orleans Arena in Las Vegas, Nev. |